There have been countless arguments over the years regarding the constitutionality of certain government acts, but one idea should be ubiquitously agreed upon by people of all political affiliations: that the murder of innocent citizens should never be tolerated. On Jan. 24, Alex Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse, was fatally shot by two federal officers while filming Border Patrol officers in Minneapolis. This is another violent death in a string of shootings by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which have become common in recent months following President Donald Trump’s implementation of stricter immigration limitations and laws.
Before Pretti’s death became a national sensation, ICE committed thousands of hostile acts against people all over the United States, including assaulting and arresting people without legal justification. On Jan. 7, the situation escalated even further when ICE agents fatally shot Renee Good, a U.S. citizen and mother of three in Minneapolis. This sparked immediate protests from thousands of people across the nation, especially in Minneapolis. Pretti was a dedicated protester after the murder of Good, and he believed in standing up for the rights of all, no matter their background.
At 8:58 a.m. on Jan. 24, Pretti was standing on Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis, filming Border Patrol officers shoving two women into the street. They began to pepper spray one of the women on the ground, prompting Pretti to step in between the woman and the officer to try to prevent further escalation. However, Pretti only ended up being pepper sprayed and thrown to the ground as well. After this assault, Pretti raised his hands in what witnesses saw as a sign that he wasn’t a threat, but the ICE agents pepper sprayed him again, grabbed him, and pinned him down. While Pretti was legally carrying a firearm, he never brandished it, and it was only discovered after agents tackled him. At one point, five officers were on top of Pretti, and one began to beat his face with a metal canister.
John Cohen, a former acting Department of Homeland Security undersecretary, said that the officers were not following standard protocol at all, and told ABC News that “they didn’t seem to have any understanding from a tactical perspective on how to gain control of that individual.”
After Pretti was beaten by one officer, another drew his handgun. At 9:01 a.m., the first shot was fired. Pretti fell limp after three more shots were fired, and officers went on to shoot him six more times before stepping away from his body. The doctor that examined him said that he had at least five bullet wounds across his body on his back, chest, and neck.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claims that Pretti “committed an act of domestic terrorism” and that he “arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement,” but video evidence proves this is a lie.
Pretti was merely defending women being assaulted, and in exchange, ICE agents brutally pepper sprayed, beat up, and murdered him even though he posed no threat. Pretti did not wish to inflict damage on anyone; he was a frequent protester for peace after the murder of Good. The only people that broke any laws in this situation were the officers who killed an innocent citizen for no real reason, which is appalling and should never be justified. It was government acts like these that Pretti was trying to protest against in the first place.